Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Restaurants

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the recent decline of large restaurant chains.

lord henley: The Government recognises that in some areas the restaurant sector is changing as it responds to changes in the market, and that when some restaurant chains close, this presents a stressful and uncertain time for affected employees and their families. JobCentre Plus, through its Rapid Response Service, stand ready to support any employees affected by such restaurant closure announcements.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Mohammad Husam Abdul-Latif Habali

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the killing of Mohammad Husam Abdul-Latif Habali by Israeli forces in Tulkarem in the West Bank.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised this incident with the Israeli authorities on 10 December.

Israel: Palestinians

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the actions of Israeli forces (1) entering Palestinian villages, refugee camps and towns during the night or early in the morning, and (2) responding to protests by using teargas and live ammunition.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We have repeatedly made clear to Israel our longstanding concerns about its conduct in its occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We remain concerned about the manner in which the Israel Defence Forces police non-violent protests and the border areas, including use of live ammunition.

Palestinians: Religious Buildings

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they will give to the Palestinian National Authority to protect holy sites, including the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK’s long standing position is that we support the Oslo Accords that set out a process for the gradual and incremental transfer of a range of responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority. We encourage Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan to do all they can to work together to avoid tensions and continue to uphold the status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem and elsewhere. The Government attaches great importance to the holy sites and in the case of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, I visited the mosque last year to both pay my respects, and also to establish how issues of access and maintenance were being addressed.

Gaza: Travel Restrictions

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the ability of Palestinian Christians in Gaza to visit Jerusalem for the Christmas celebrations.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We have not specifically raised the issue of access for Palestinian Christians with the Israeli authorities. However the Government remains deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement between the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. It remains difficult for Palestinians of all religions, to enter East Jerusalem for work, education, medical treatment or religious worship. Through our Embassy in Tel Aviv, we regularly lobby the Israeli authorities on this matter and encourage them to ease access restrictions.

Palestinians: Vaccination

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they will make to the government of Israel about the supply of vaccines to Palestine.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​We regularly raise the urgent need to ease all access and movement restrictions on the occupied Palestinian Territories with Israeli authorities. The British Government supports a project that provides medical equipment and training to medical professionals in Gaza.

Israel: Gaza

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of allegations of war crimes by the Israeli Defence Force in Gaza, including reports of armed personnel posing as humanitarian aid workers; and what discussions they have had about such allegations with the government of Israel.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​Whilst we have not made any assessment on this issue, we have repeatedly made clear to Israel our longstanding concerns about its conduct in its occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We regularly raise concerns about Gaza with the Israeli authorities and urge them to lift their restrictions in order to improve the humanitarian situation.

The Senior Deputy Speaker

College Green

lord storey: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether the House Authorities were consulted on the decision to closeCollege Green to the public; and whether broadcasters using the Green pay the House.

lord mcfall of alcluith: Yes, Black Rod was consulted on the closure of College Green. The Green is owned by the House of Commons but day to day access is delegated by the Clerk of the House to Black Rod. Current policy is to allow public access to the Green to enable the public to pass through on the paths or to use it as a recreational space. It is also longstanding policy also to allow the media to use the Green for the contemporaneous news reporting of events within Parliament. Broadcasters are not charged to use the Green as is it considered to be in Parliament’s and the national interest that they should be facilitated to report on Parliament. As the Green is owned by the House of Commons, the question of charging would be a matter for them, not the House of Lords.

Ministry of Defence

Gibraltar Defence Police

baroness harris of richmond: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Chief Police Officer, Rob Allen, and Inspector Mark Wood have been reinstated to the Gibraltar Defence Police; if so, on what grounds that decision was taken; and how the disciplinary charges they were facing have been resolved.

earl howe: The Ministry of Defence are unable to comment on any individual cases, but a wider review is currently taking place on the future of the Gibraltar Defence Police. The Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Mark Lancaster MP) recently corresponded with the noble Lady, following his visit to Gibraltar in November 2018, and he has agreed to keep her informed of the progress of this review over the course of the next year.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: Refugees

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of the effectiveness and accessibility of the Universal Credit advance payment service for newly recognised refugees.

baroness buscombe: We have made no specific assessment for newly recognised refugees. Provided the eligibility criteria for Universal Credit is met, we will always offer an advance payment to a refugee when making a new claim. DWP staff have access to information on a range of services and support available in their local area for vulnerable claimants including refugees. This includes Universal Support which provides help with using online services and budgeting advice. We also have access to a range of translation services to assist should the claimant need support to overcome any language barriers.

Ministry of Justice

Community Rehabilitation Companies: Redundancy Pay

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how much Community Rehabilitation Companies have spent on redundancies since 2015; and whether they consider that amount to be a cause for concern.

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey havemade of the sufficiency of the staffing levels of Community Rehabilitation Companies in order to deal withthe size and character of the caseloads they handle.

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their contracts with Community Rehabilitation Companies allow(1) staff numbers, and (2) costs to be published; and if not, why not.

lord keen of elie: Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) contracts require each CRC to maintain a sufficient level of staff and ensure that its workforce is competent and adequately trained. Our Contract Management teams closely monitor and robustly manage providers to make sure they fulfil their commitments. We do not hold information regarding redundancy costs as CRCs have the authority to manage surplus staff as per their business and operating models. Where redundancies have been made, CRCs have been required to provide assurance that service delivery can be maintained. We take seriously concerns raised by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) and others over staffing levels, particularly for resettlement work with prisoners nearing the end of their custodial terms. The contract changes we agreed with CRCs this year include £22m per year in additional funding for Through The Gate services, which will mean approximately 500 more staff working with offenders in prison after April 2019. We are currently proposing further changes to probation after the existing CRC contracts come to an end in 2020. The proposed changes include measures to ensure the probation workforce is better supported to build their careers and deliver a high-quality service to offenders, such as introducing a standard training framework for staff and a national professional register to recognise the specialism and value of probation work. We do not routinely publish staff numbers and costs as this is commercially sensitive information.